Foolish
by Shoujo's Revenge
Summary: Tears just keep on flowing. She just stares into the distance, hoping that he would come back soon. She can’t die without seeing him again. She couldn’t see the whip that strikes down heavily on her scathed body. She can’t scream anymore. Bakuraxoc
1. Lachrymose

Title: Foolish

Author: PhoenixKaen

Summary: Makare was reincarnated into modern-day Japan as a normal high school girl or is she? This so-called normal girl, Rina remembers her past-life and when she finds her love from a long time ago, she won't give up even if he doesn't acknowledge her. Bakuraxoc

Couples: Bakuraxoc

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter 1: Lachrymose

_"Your love completes my existence  
You're the other half that makes me whole"_

-Amel Larrieux, _Make Me Whole_

With expressionless eyes, she looks far away into the neverending distance. She breathes slowly. She whimpers. It hurts even when she breathes. _When is he coming back? _She thinks. She hopes that he'd come back by now. Who's going to save her now? Crimson blood flows down her naked arms, legs, back and chest. Her long auburn hair is covered in the crimson substance and dirt. Her entire body aches. Her body numbs. She can't move. Her grey eyes looks to the distance. _Please come back..._is her simple wish. _Save me and hold me. _

"What do we do with her, general?" A man says to his superior.

"This girl has no valuable information. You can have some more fun and then kill her." The general replies coldly. He leaves on horseback.

It's cold and damp here. She shivers. The cool sand underneath her weak and slashed legs and the taunting wind whipping her face with harsh sands. It is also dark here. Hot and salty tears stain her cheeks.

"This isn't such a lucky day for you, is it?" The inferior man says to the helpless and nude girl. "I'll tell you what. How about if I kill you now so it can be quick and painless?" The helpless girl cannot answer. Tears just keep on flowing. She just stares into the distance, hoping that he would come back soon. She can't die without seeing him again. She couldn't see the whip that strikes down heavily on her scathed body. She can't scream anymore.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Someone let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Ugh, damn him!" Rina said grouchily as she sat up on her bed. She turned on the lamp and blinked in the sudden brightness. "Wake up and deal with him, mom!" She whined. She put her face in her hands. Rina waited until her mom woke up and dealt with her baby brother. When he stopped screaming, she dropped her head heavily on the cold pillow. Now she was thinking about her nightmare that she just had. It was the recurring dream of the day when she was murdered in cold blood by a complete stranger. It wasn't just the fact that the image of her own death haunted her but it was the feeling that she got from the dream.

She had felt desperation, sorrow and longing that day. It had been about five thousand years ago but she can remember her past life clearly. She remembered that she didn't want to die. She just wanted to be with a special someone. The special someone that never came that day.

She should just forget about all that now. She had a new life now. New parents, new friends and plenty of new guys that are interested in her. But why would she attain her memories unless it was fate? It just might mean that she'd see him in this lifetime. That was the hope that she was clinging onto.

Rina looked at her digital alarm clock. It was twelve in the morning. She turned off the lamp and drifted off to sleep. She couldn't think about anymore of this.

Rina Adachi had clear, piercing grey eyes with light-blue specks. Her hair was reddish-brown and shiny. It flowed down to her shoulder blades. Her body was fairly thin but it was also healthy. She was fairly attractive but she didn't have a boyfriend yet.

"Rina-chan, that's the fifth guy that you rejected! Are you just picky or are you a lesbian?" Emi, Rina's friend asked her as the two of them walked down the street. This dark haired girl was the same age as Rina. She is always sporting a pair of purple-framed glasses but that doesn't stunt her cute face. Rina, on the other hand, was considered quite popular amongst some guys. But she doesn't seem to acknowledge any of them.

"Hmph! None of the guys I've met so far is the one I want. The only one I want is..." Rina looked down at the ground in sadness. "him, the only one that ever acknowledged me even though I was just a worthless girl." She muttered. Emi looked at her with confusion. "What?" Rina just shook her head and said "nothing." With a bittersweet smile, she and Emi continued down the sidewalk.

_I see so much of those movies about reincarnating lovers that always meet up again. It makes a great story but that's not real life. Ever since I was five, I remembered everything about my past life but after all these years, I still haven't found him yet. Is this some kind of cruel punishment? Will I just wander through this new life without seeing him again? The only one that I want to give my heart to..._

"Rina...Rina-chan! RINA-CHAN! Watch out!" Emi's voice ran through Rina's head, finally bringing her out of her thoughts. The ginger-haired girl came to her senses to find herself in the middle of a crosswalk and was paralyzed even though a car was speeding towards her. "AHH! RINA-CHAN!" Emi shrieked while covering her face with her hands. Rina breathed in deeply, mesmerized by the car's headlights. _Am I going to die without finding him? _She shut her eyes tightly.

It was so sudden. She was roughly pushed into the curb, out of harm's way. Voices all around her screamed with relief and praise, it seemed. Someone fell on top of her as she opened her eyes. The person grunted as Rina looked up at her savior. Her eyes widened as soon as she laid eyes on him...She couldn't believe it. Through the curtain of his white bangs, she could see his all too familiar eyes..."Could it be...?" She muttered. She put her hand to her mouth in shock. He looked up and their eyes met. Emi looked back and forth from her friend to the strange guy. Her friend's eyes were overflowing with emotion.

"Uh...Rina-chan?" Emi said uncertainly. Why was her friend getting so emotional? Probably because she just had a near death experience but she never saw Rina this teary-eyed. "Is something wrong?"

"Are you okay, Miss?" Ryou asked Rina. She looked at him with teary eyes. "Miss?!" She repeated venomously. "Since when do YOU refer to me as Miss? What happened to 'bitch' or 'wench'?" She berated him. He sweatdropped at her strange questions. People gathered around the trio to see what Rina was yelling about.

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice, Miss." Ryou said, nervously smiling. He got off of her and offered his hand to her. She slapped it away and got up herself. Emi looked at the pair in confusion. Did Rina know this guy or was she being affected by her near death experience? Again, she looked at him with emotion. He looked at her strangely then said a simple 'you should be careful next time'. He was going to leave but she pulled him back.

"Wait a minute!" She was glaring at him now. Her grip on him seemed to tighten but she was looking meaningfully at him. Emi, giggling nervously, was now trying to pull Rina away while telling Ryou not to mind her strange friend. Rina bit her bottom lip. "I know it's you," she said gently. "I know you remember me, too. Why are you looking at me with that questionable look?"

"Rina-chan, let's go before you embarrass us even more," Emi begged, pulling on Rina's sleeve. The latter pulled away and continued to look into Ryou's eyes. She seemed to be searching for something but she couldn't find it.

"Come on, Rina-chan. People are looking," Emi said nervously.

"I don't care! Let them look!" She looked back at the confused white-haired boy. "So what if I'm reborn into this body? Rina Adachi doesn't look that different from the Pharaoh's slave, Makare from five thousand years ago. See? My eyes and hair color are the same, only now my skin color is lighter and my hairstyle is different."

"Miss, I think you've got the wrong person," Ryou said uncomfortably, prying Rina's fingernails from his shirt.

"No! I know it's you! Your presence is the same as in the past and stop calling me 'Miss!' It's me, Makare. Remember?"

"Rina, we're going to be late!" Emi said loudly. She pulled Rina away from Ryou with all the strength she could muster. For a thin person, Rina could be strong at times. "Eheh I'm sorry about my friend. She's a little dazed right now. Thanks for saving her. She owes you one." Rina didn't fight back. She took one last look at him as she crossed the street. They gazed at each other for a few seconds. He quickly turned away. A single tear dripped down her face. The people around her suddenly became mute even though they were conversing lively.

In a world full of people, she could've chose someone else. Instead, she still chose someone who was the cause of her death, the cause of her sorrows, the cause of her tears but he was also the cause of her happiness.

_He knew who I was. _Rina thought sadly. _Why are you avoiding me, you asshole?! _

"Rina," Emi whined. "What's wrong?" She saw Rina's misty eyes. The latter shook her head, indicating nothing was wrong. She walked ahead, leaving Emi to catch up. "Hey uh...Why were you yelling at that guy just now? You know he just saved your life. You could've at least said 'thank you' but you were so rude. You started to act weird and embarrassed us. Do you know him?"

"He's someone that I have loved for a very long time," Rina said solemnly. Emi was confused.

"But he kept calling you 'miss'. He doesn't know you. Oooh...Is it one of those guys that you secretly have a crush on but he didn't know you existed?" Emi asked. Rina was irked. He better had known that she existed. She had done so many things for him. Sometimes he was a jerk about it though.

"How pathetic do you think I am?! Of course, he knows I exist!" She shouted at her friend, suddenly towering her.

Emi sweatdropped. "Ehehe...It's okay, you know. Lots of girls go through this kind of thing. They like a guy that doesn't give them the time of day. It's normal. This is a change of events though. Usually, guys notice you right away. You even turn down the most desirable guys. You really love this guy, huh?"

"Hmm." Rina sighed softly, regaining her sadness. "He really does know I exist. I don't know why he's avoiding me. He's acting just like the Pharaoh." The last statement bewildered Emi. She looked strangely at Rina.

The auburn-haired girl wondered if the Pharaoh was also reincarnated. Pharaoh Atemu, he was her first love. She didn't get to serve him regularly; she was one of Priestess Isis' servants. The Priestess was a kind superior to Makare, Rina's past name. The frustrating thing was that she rarely saw the Pharaoh. He was usually in the throne room where she wasn't allowed. The only times she could see him is if he decided to take a nightly walk or sometimes she actually managed to bump into him.

The love was never meant to be; he was royalty and she was the help. She knew that they could never be together. He hardly noticed her. When she actually had small chances to speak, she just apologized for bumping into him or addressed him properly. He was very kind every time. At that point in time, Makare thought that her heart would always be broken. That's before she met the hatred filled and wanted man whose title was the Thief King.

Sometimes late at night, Makare glimpsed at the Pharaoh from far away and in secrecy. She was just content with seeing him every night even if he didn't know she existed. Nonetheless, she still supported him for his fight against evil. That evil was in the form of a Thief King. She secretly prayed to the Gods that this evil would be destroyed as her way of supporting Atemu. She didn't know this same evil would be the same person she would fall in love with.

A faint smile appeared on Rina's face. It was strange. One minute she was sad then she was reminiscing about another person. Emi thought her friend was a little off today. Rina then realized...She looked at her watch. She was ten minutes late! Her mom had found a job that she could do to help with the family's financial problem. She had counted on Rina to come home early to babysit.

"Damn it! Sorry, Emi! I have to go now. We'll go to the arcade tomorrow, okay?" Rina scrambled for home. Emi looked after her sprinting friend's back and shook her head slowly. "Oh, my god. I can't believe I almost forgot." _I can't believe I made mom late on her first day of work. It's because of him..._Rina shamefully let one man invaded all of her thoughts. She sighed. She's going to be thinking about him even more now that she saw him in this lifetime, for the first time. _Think of how stupid my excuse would sound. 'I'm sorry, mom. I was late because I was almost killed by a car but a man I loved five thousand years ago saved me.' Ugh...My legs are cramping up but I can't stop now. _

Rina almost reached the street that led to her house. Then she passed a familiar looking woman. She ran back. "Hey, mom." She said, smiling sheepishly. Her mom looked angry at her, one hand on the baby stroller. "Eheh I'm sorry. I kind of forgot."

"I'm fifteen minutes late now, thanks to you," she said sternly. "Never mind. Just look after your brother." She said before Rina could say anything. She raced to the bus stop. Rina watched her go then pushed the stroller back to the house.

"So how's it going, otouto-chan? How you enjoying being in the family so far?" Rina asked her little brother. The latter looked up at her blankly. He made baby sounds.

"Yeah?" Rina said, pretending that the gurgling sounds were his response. "That's good. Your life doesn't suck as much as mine. You're lucky you're a baby. You don't have to think about much. Your sis isn't so lucky. I just saw someone special today; someone that I've been thinking since I was a little girl. I'll let you in on a secret: I remember things from my past life. I'm only telling you this because you can't tell anyone else. I trust you completely. This special someone is a man that I fell in love with thousands and thousands of years ago. You'd probably hate him the first time you meet him. I know I did. He was rumored to be a cruel man that would do anything, even take innocent lives. He was a threat to the ruler of the time, Pharaoh Atemu." She smiled lightly at the memory.

"Now him, you would actually like. He was a kind man. Everybody, including me, was proud to have him as our leader. Almost everybody, anyway. Your sister's boyfriend, I guess you could call him that, hated him more than anyone. Before I became his uh girlfriend, I thought his hatred of the Pharaoh was unreasonable. I forgot to mention that I used to love Pharaoh Atemu. I loved him before I love my boyfriend. I don't love Pharaoh Atemu anymore if that's what you're thinking!" Rina blushed. The baby looked innocently at her. He was giggling.

"I couldn't help loving him. My pastlife parents sold me into slavery. I was feeling lonely and vulnerable. Somehow, I ended up at the palace, serving Priestess Isis. She was one of the many Priests that served the Pharaoh. She was very kind. One day, Priestess Isis didn't call for me. There was a banquet that day. I was just wandering around and got dragged into helping set it up. After it was done, I ended up serving the nobles. I had to pour the wine. Everything looked so beautiful. The food looked delectable. The wine smelled wonderful. Of course, the help can't just sit down and enjoy themselves. The privilege of being there was good enough for me. I got to see all the legendary Priests and Priestess Isis was there. The only one that looked preoccupied was the young Pharaoh. Then again, I think he was only a few years older than me. I was fourteen at that time. Anyway, his solemn face intrigued me. I couldn't blame him for being sad. His father, a great Pharaoh before him, died." Before Rina knew it, she was pushing the stroller towards the direction of the park. "I won't say that I fell in love at first sight. That sounds corny but despite being the next leader, he was still sad. I realized at that moment that even a Pharaoh, supposedly, a descendent from the Sun God, Ra was also an ordinary human with emotions. I won't say I fell in love that instant but I will say I kept him in my mind.

As time went on, I found myself excited just to catch a glimpse of him. Ooh! Your sis was in love. It was stupid to think of him in that way. A Pharaoh would not give the time of day to a slave. Your sis was distraught though I managed to go through with life. It was easy. Priestess Isis' kindness made it easy. Life was a routine for me. In the morning, I wake up and do whatever it is my superior asks. In the afternoon, I basically do laundry with the other slaves by the river. Late at night, I wait until the Pharaoh takes a nightly stroll. Just seeing him makes me content. If I told this to Emi, she probably would've said I was crazy. But after she gets over it, she'd probably thought I wasn't being myself. Now if I want something, I get it, especially a guy. What an irony. Now most guys think I'm hot.

I'm not trying to gloat. The 'hottest' guys at school ask me out; I always say no. Girls are jealous but I rather they date the 'hot' guys. Then they would stop bothering me. It's annoying. Try sitting at your desk, just talking to a friend then some girl you don't know calls you a 'slut'. The guys are worst. Okay, I'm off subject. Sorry. Where was I? Oh, yeah. I was harboring a secret crush on the Pharaoh. When he thinks he's alone, he has on a sad expression. I think he was lonely, just like me. Plus, he had to stop evil from destroying the world. The thought of the burden that he carries; he had no time for a normal life. It didn't make me pity him; I just loved him more.

You probably think your sis is a liar, huh? I do sound like I still have feelings for him. Although, that was all before I met my 'boyfriend.' I don't think 'boyfriend' is the right word. He never said he loved me. He was lewd and I won't tell you what that means. You're too young to know. Sometimes I thought he didn't appreciate me. There was one thing that made me know that he did care. Whenever I said something positive about the Pharaoh, he was furious. Sometimes I meant it and sometimes I said it because he made me mad. My mentioning Pharaoh Atemu always made him jealous. Then he'd pay attention to me and listen to what I say. It was funny in a way. Here was a merciless man who was planning to cover the world in darkness, listening intently to a lowly woman. He wasn't so bad after all. I thought that many times. He might not be the most gentlest man but he never raised his hand on me. Sometimes he gave me jewelry that he salvages. Usually, he sells the jewelry for food." They were in the park now. Passersby thought she was talking to herself. She walked to the shadier part. Rina sat down on the bench, underneath a massive tree. She reached into the bag, which hung from the side of the stroller. She took out a bottle of milk and gave it to him. He suckled it, his eyes watching her. He was telling her to continue.

"He deemed himself the Thief King. He was known for the trouble that he caused the Pharaoh. He stole, he murdered, and he wanted to plummet the world into darkness. Why did I love him? Maybe I was just insane. A sane girl would've tried to get away from him as soon as possible. I stayed. You want to know why he hated the Pharaoh? It's because his family, his neighbors and everybody that lived in his village were murdered. He saw it all happen. He was the sole survivor. He blamed it all on the Pharaoh. When he told me, I just couldn't believe it. Pharaoh Atemu would kill an entire village of people? It was impossible. It's not because I used to love him that I defend him. It's because it just wasn't the type of thing he would do. It would be like if Santa Claus decided to kill the Easter Bunny. It's insane. He was furious when I said that. He had always known I had feelings for Pharaoh Atemu. By that time, my feelings were gone. You know how people are. They get jealous so easily. I repeatedly said that I wasn't defending him just because of that. I was being serious. He didn't believe that. Another bad quality of his, his stubbornness.

I was usually so quiet and nice but he just pushed it. My temper got the best of me. I ran all the way back to the palace. At that time, I was still working at the Palace. Sometimes I sneaked out at night to be with my ugh... pigheaded boyfriend. He didn't bother to chase after me. Like I said, there were times where he just didn't care. I decided to stop. I changed directions and went somewhere else. I didn't want to go back to the palace or see him. Can you believe where I went? I actually went to a tavern. It's the worst place for a 15-year-old girl to be. I just wanted to be by myself. As soon as I went in there, everybody stared at me. Normally, any female that went there were 'working'. Again, you're too young to know what that means. I was uncomfortable immediately. Most people there were drunken old men, mostly the rough kind. The kind that looks for a 'good time'. You better not turn out like them either!

Anyway, I sat at a table in the corner. The owner asked me what I wanted; I said I had no money. That wasn't true. I did have money but that was for grocery shopping. The men on the nearby tables heard that and jumped at the chance. They offered to bring me drinks. Apparently, they thought I was one of the 'working ladies.' That made me thought about if my 'boyfriend' ever acted like the way these men did. Did he used to offer drinks to strange women for a good time? Just the thought made me want to yell at him. Sorry. Back to my predicament, I didn't know what to do. If I refused, they would react in a negative way. If I agreed, then that meant I had to uh...hang out with them. That's not a good thing. That meant I had to be friends with smelly old men. In those days, girls even younger than me have already made friend with their husband. Well, I didn't have a husband. Therefore, I had never been 'friends' with anyone yet. Besides, the only one I wanted to make friends with was the Thief King. Being surrounded by these men made me less angry with him. I wanted to be with him again.

I was so stupid. I felt lonely. I just wanted to see him like I want to see him now!" Rina shouted. A drop of water fell on her lap. She looked up at the sky. Everybody started to run for cover. More and more droplets of water poured on Rina and the baby. "Damn, it's pouring!" She hurriedly put up the plastic cover over her brother to keep him dry. She had no such luck. She would have to walk home in the heavy rainfall. "Are you kidding me? First, being dissed by that jerk, now this!" The baby started to cry. He was being kept dry but the loud pitter-patter of the rain scared him.

_Things just couldn't get worse. _Rina thought grouchily. A surprisingly strong wind that blew out of nowhere proved her wrong. Her school uniform was already drenched and she wasn't even out of the park yet. She would have to get home soon or her brother's never going to stop crying. She pushed the stroller with all her strength. The wind was evidently playing with her. It kept pushing it in different directions.

Rina walked miserably, forward the stroller to go a certain direction. Her clothes were stuck to her body. Strands of hair stuck to her forehead. She shivered; her clothes were drenched. A miserable image of a miserable girl. _I wish otouto-chan would stop crying._

"AHH!" The wind decided to be cruel; a strong gust blew out of nowhere. Rina's grip on the stroller broke. "No, otouto-chan!" She cried, running after the stroller. It rolled farther and farther away with Rina chasing after it. A man ran past Rina holding a newspaper over his head, knocking her down. The stroller continued to roll away with the wind's guidance. People didn't seem to notice the runaway stroller. They were too busy avoiding the rain. Rina got up and ran after it. She managed to catch up. She reached out. Her fingers were brushing the handle; she could almost...

Raindrops stopped pelting on her head. The stroller stopped trying to escape. Rina stared at the hand that held the stroller in place. Her grey eyes trailed up to the arm. She quickly turned around. His free hand held a black umbrella over the both of them. She put her hands to her face. She couldn't believe it. Her eyebrows furrowed. Her tears silently mixed in with her already dripping face.

"After all these years...After thinking about you for eleven years...I finally found you," Rina whispered. Her clear grey eyes pierced his brown ones.

A/N: I had this story idea a long time ago but I couldn't just write it. I wanted to write a Bakura romance story badly but I had to do one that people actually wanted to read. I hope the parts with Rina talking to her baby brother weren't too boring. That part just worked for me; I just kept typing. It won't be a happy lovey-dovey fic.


	2. Be My First and My Last

Title: Foolish

Author: Flower in a Cage

Summary: Makare was reincarnated into modern-day Japan as a normal high school girl or is she? This so-called normal girl, Rina remembers her past-life and when she finds her love from a long time ago, she won't give up even if he doesn't acknowledge her. Bakuraxoc

Caught in the cycle of reincarnation, her soul cannot rest until she finds him...only to end up like she was before. BakuraxOC

A/N: I was touched by the reviews so I decided to continue this story but if there's no reviews for this chapter, I will stop writing.

Chapter 2: By My First (and My Last)

"_There's nothing I can do, I can't erase you from my heart  
My tears fall first  
If I never saw you, no, if I never met you  
This pain never would've came"_

_-_-Lee Soo Young, _A Love to Kill_

_italic-a character's thoughts_

_This feeling called love...I'm so embarrassed to say it aloud. To say 'I love you' to someone you love should be easy but not when that person won't reciprocate those words. Not when that person doesn't see you in his future._

_Ever since I was five, I remembered everything about my past life but after all these years, I still haven't found him yet. Is this some kind of cruel punishment? Will I just wander through this new life without seeing him again? The only one that I want to give my heart to..._

She couldn't see the whip that struck down heavily on her scathed body...She turned her head wearily to the little girl who watched her with wide horrified eyes. She reached out with her hand with its quivering fingers. Drops of her blood dripped down slowly to the sand. "Hel...helppp...me..." She moaned miserably. "Is he going to come back for me? Will he save me?" She choked out. The little girl hesitated. She wanted to help this familiar young woman but she was also scared. Why was she covered with blood? Why were her eyes so bleak?

"Why won't he come back and help me? Why won't you help me?" With what little strength she had, she lunged forward and caught the hem of the little girl's dress. She let out a shrill scream when the teenage girl's grip loosened and her head dropped listlessly on her shoulder.

"WAAHHH!! Mama! Papa!" Five-year-old Rina Adachi shrilly yelled. The door immediately flung open. Both her parents ran inside the bedroom to soothe. She launched herself into her mom's arms burying her face in her pajama shirt. She sobbed uncontrollably haunted by the image of her past tragic death.

* * *

"Dear Kami-sama, I promise I'll be extra good if you let me see Bakura in this lifetime. I want to see him again and be his wife when I grow up." Rina said, clasping her hands together with her eyes closed. Her parents pried open their eyes to look at their praying daughter then at each other.

"What did you just say, Rina-chan?" Her mother asked her. Five-year-old Rina opened her eyes and looked innocently at her mother.

"I said I wanted to see Bakura again, mommy. You said that if I prayed hard to Him, then my wishes would come true, right?" She asked.

"That's right. If you prayed everyday and did good deeds, then I don't see why you shouldn't have your wish come true."

"Then where is he, mommy? When can I see him?" Her calm voice changed. She was almost pleading with desperation. The unshed tears that clung onto her eyelashes shone in the sunlight.

"See who, Rina? Who are you talking about?" Her mom's voice choked. Rina lowered her head to hide her sadness. Her eyelashes cast a shadow on her cheeks.

"It's not fair. I don't ask for much, right, mommy? WHY CAN'T I SEE HIM?"

* * *

Rina had gone from extremely depressed to deliriously happy. In one day, she had seen her lover in a past life and now he was standing right behind her. She hadn't had a feeling like this since...well, the last time they met. She was visibly blushing. Now she could do all the things that she wanted to do with him as a modern day couple. She had always imagined him and her going to the movies. Basically, going out on a normal date. Rina took a look back at her past life beau. Like her, the rain had taken a toll of him. He was drenched from head to toe.

She giggled behind her hand. _He looks kind of cute like that. _Rina turned the key in the lock and opened the front door. She called out to make sure that no one was home. No one answered her. Her baby brother was worn out from screaming his lungs off. He was sleeping in the stroller that Bakura helped push all the way to Rina's house. On the way there, she noticed that he didn't say much of anything. She had led the way so she didn't notice that once in a while he glanced at her profile.

"Let me take that," Rina said happily, gingerly taking the umbrella from his hand. She put it in the umbrella stand. "And I'll take him, too." She gathered the infant in her arms. He fussed a little but he rolled over in her arms, peacefully sleeping. "I'm just going to put Masato for his nap then I'll be back with some dry clothes. Make yourself comfortable on the couch." She went upstairs, leaving Bakura all alone in the living room.

At her workplace, Rina's mom decided to call to see if everything was okay. It has been a while since she had a job. After her baby son was born, she had been acting overly motherly, not leaving the baby alone for one second. When the family's financial crisis increased, she had no choice but to get a part-time job to help pay the bills and expenses.

"That's weird. No one's answering," she said after getting their answering machine.

Meanwhile at Adachi residence, Rina came down the stairs, carrying her dad's black silk pajamas. She had just tucked the baby in his crib where he is sleeping the day away. _Did the phone just ring? _Rina thought she heard the telephone ring. She blinked with confusion when she reached the living room. It was empty. "Bakura? Where are you?" She kneeled on the couch to look over the back. Her heart pounded. The desperate feeling came back again. What if he left her...again? Because of her anxiety, she failed to notice that the phone cord was ripped from the wall.

"Bakura? Bakura?" She cried desperately. If he didn't answer...Her eyes were misty now. She clenched the pajamas tightly.

"Here I am." He whispered in her ear. His head rested on top of hers, his arms encircling her shoulders. She exhaled. She missed his embrace so much. She had imagined how it would feel like if she was to see him again. She had imagined it since she was five (in this lifetime). She turned around, dropping the clothes to the couch and embraced him tightly. She let out all her hopelessness, all her sadness, all her frustrations in the form of loud sobs. "Do you know how much I missed your embrace? Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? I gave up so much guys...just for YOU! I was never truly happy in this lifetime, always pining to see you again. I-I thought that maybe...maybe I'd never will see you. That killed me on the inside." She said in-between sobs. _If my friends saw me now; crumbling in front of a guy. They would've thought I was crazy. Rina Adachi crying over one guy, it was impossible. They probably would've thought._

"You are such an asshole," Rina said out of habit. She was still sobbing. It was one thing Makare said quite often. _You're an asshole bu-but I love you. _She smiled, reveling in his embrace.

"Do you want to be my friend tonight?" Bakura said with a cheeky grin. She snapped her head up and looked at him. She gasped, realizing that he had probably overheard her in the park. She lowered her head and resting it on his wet chest.

_Besides, the only one I wanted to make friends with was the Thief King. _She remembered saying that. _I want him to be my only one. _Her fingers clenched onto the fabric of his sweater. _To be my first time. _She reached up and gently placed her right hand on the side of his face. She stroked his face tenderly and smiled. Her grey eyes bore into his watchful eyes and nodded.

* * *

"You still love the fucking Pharaoh, don't you?!" When he shouted those words dripping with malice, her heart crumbled into a thousand little pieces. Makare couldn't believe that he still didn't know how she felt towards him. What a cruel accusation that he was directing towards her. How many women did all those things that she had done for him? Why did she waste her time with this most wanted man in all of Egypt? She didn't know. No, that wasn't true. She did know. She had fallen in love with this cruel man. What are his feelings towards her? Was she just the woman who willingly takes care of him? He took her silence to be the affirmation to his question.

She had fallen out of love with Pharaoh Atemu long ago especially when she knew their love was never to be. Sometimes she had felt that the Thief King was just a replacement in her heart. Had he also felt that or does he even care? However, she soon found out that she was glad that she met him; glad that she got to know him; glad that she could be around him and glad that he was comfortable around her. Clear tears fell down her cheeks one by one. She could taste the saltiness when she tightened her lips.

She summoned the strength to speak without breaking down in front of him. "And if I did? Would you care?" Why can't he see that he was causing these sorrowful tears? He didn't say anything and _his _silence was the answer to _her _question. A heavy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she mentally laughed at her foolish self. She knew now how stupid it was of her to think that this man could actually love her. It was absurd yet she had prayed every night to the Goddess Isis that she'll find someone who loved her. She had thought that that someone would be Bakura but evidently, she was just a nothing to him, too. It was clear to her now that she'll always be seen as a slave. That's all she's good for. Makare wiped her cheeks glistening with tears and decided; _There is no point in staying with him anymore if he doesn't care._ Bakura slowly faded into the air.

"Did you ever really give a damn about me?" Rina whispered, opening her eyes. She found herself sitting in front of a slowly dying fire. She moved one hand to feel grainy sand underneath her fingers. The night sky was dotted with a million stars. She turned her head to the left then to the right. Where was she now? A cold wind passed by chilling her to the bone. The dirt-stained linen dress that she was wearing failed to warm her. She yelped in surprise when something moved on her lap. She looked down in alarm to find Bakura's head cuddling into her lap. Her face resembled a tomato.

_Bakura...You're only mine when you're asleep. _Her eyes started to glisten underneath the moonlight. She ran her fingers gingerly into his wild hair. He stirred slightly underneath her touch but rolled over to resume his sleep. To her, he looked like so much like a child. It was irony how this one man could bring the downfall of a nation but she viewed him as a child. She would probably get laughed at if she told this to someone else. She continually stroked his tangled hair. With tear falling after tear, she silently wished that he didn't have to see his entire village slaughtered in front of his eyes. The helplessness, the sorrow and the rage that he must have felt at the time. Then the worst feeling of them all; loneliness. He had to feel that loneliness at such a young age. When she thinks about all that he had to endure, she sobbed, biting down on her sleeve to muffle the sound.

She wished that they could just stay like this forever. With him peacefully resting on her, his way of showing that he needed her. At least as he slumbered, his troubled soul was in peace with the cruel world. When he's resting, his words as sharp as daggers wouldn't pierce through her. She wouldn't have to pretend the words didn't hurt. With him resting, the world can be safe from him and he could belong to her. Or at least she can pretend that he belonged to her. She would shield him from anymore wickedness in the world. She'd hold his vulnerable form in her arms forever. Not even the Pharaoh nor the gods could separate her from him. "But it's impossible for you to stay by my side for eternity, isn't it?" Makare choked out.

In answer to her question, Bakura suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly into her eyes. "Why can't it be possible?" He gave her a sincere smile, his hand softly caressing her wet cheek. "I'll stay by your side for as long as you wish. I lo-" She placed her fingers on his lips to keep him from saying those words. Rina smiled sadly to herself, closing her eyes. _Now_ she knew that this is a dream.

"Please do not mock me, oh great gods. Not even in my dreams will Bakura ever say those words." She said to the sky, smiling bitterly. Makare's long flowing hair transformed into Rina's modern-day shoulder-length haircut. Her tanned skin turned pale. Her grey eyes remained the same but the kohl around her eyes was replaced by mascara instead. The Bakura of her dreams disappeared into bits of dust and slipped from her fingers. Her mascara was ruined as she sobbed underneath the heavens.

_I don't want anything special. Being able to experience your embraces is enough, being able to see you everyday is enough and being able to be beside you is enough. It doesn't matter if you don't say 'I love you.' Just please don't ever part with me. _"Can you guarantee me these things?" She whispered, slowly opening her eyelids. The darkness of the room greeted her. She wiped away the tears that gathered had at the corner of her eyes. She could feel the tear-soaked pillow underneath her elbow when she drew herself up. "Ugh...What time is it?" She looked at the digital clock. It glowed 7: 54. She laid her head on the pillow again then it registered. "Oh, no! Dad's coming home soon!" She screamed. The shrill scream woke up her bedmate. He stirred and groaned beside her. It woke up her baby brother, too. The high-pitched baby scream made it even harder for Bakura to sleep. She flicked on a lamp. Bakura groaned again in annoyance. He scrambled under the covers to escape the blinding light. "Otouto-channnn!" Rina whined. Her barefeet landed on the carpet as the covers fell off her naked body. She blushed.

"I almost forgot I was naked," she whispered. She slipped her feet into the comfortable slippers and rummaged through the dresser to find a shirt and pants. "Sis is coming! It's okay, otouto-chan!" She yelled at the closed door. Bakura watched her hastily dress while he was still covered in the comforter. He was enjoying every minute. She tripped while stuffing one of her legs into her pajama pants. His eyes were making her nervous. She was still kind of embarrassed even they had already...

He doubled up with laughter as she rubbed her butt. She had fallen on the floor hard. She glared at him. "What are you laughing about!" She snapped.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

"Rina-chan? Are you awake?" Her dad asked from the other side of the door. Rina immediately jumped on Bakura to keep him quiet.

"I'm kind of tired, dad." Rina said wearily. "Otouto-chan kept crying all day and I just want to take a nap, okay?"

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to know if you wanted to eat soba, I brought home some take-out." Her dad said.

"No thanks. I'm not hungry," she responded but her stomach betrayed her when it let out a loud groan. Unfortunately, her dad heard the sound so did Bakura. Her dad let out an amused chuckle.

"Rina-chan, don't tell me you're trying to diet again?" He remembered the last time that she tried to diet. She couldn't last a whole week on that all soy diet and ended up eating everything in the refrigerator before the week ended. The doorknob started to turn.

"No, dad! Don't come in!" Rina yelled but his leg was already halfway in the door when a loud cry sounded.

"That baby can really scream," her dad commented with a wince before going to his son's nursery. He closed the door on the way out. Rina sighed with relief and took her hand off Bakura's mouth. It was then that she noticed something was different about him..._very _different.

"Who are you?" The boy asked her. His eyes were so different. They looked so familiar yet not so familiar.

"What do you mean who am I? I'm Makare, remember?" Rina reached out to touch his face though he backed away from her. His eyes...They looked so different...so innocent. This wasn't the Bakura she knew! Rina backed away from the bed, then remembering again that she was uncovered, shrieked in embarrassment. Thankfully, her brother's cries were covering her own so her dad couldn't overhear. "What's going on? Who are _you_? Where's Bakura?"

"I _am _Bakura but who are you?" He shot back. Then looking down an his uncovered body, he retreated under her covers. That voice...

"You were the one I met earlier today!" Rina remembered his voice. He looked so much like the Thief King yet he wasn't. Although, she could sense him in this strange boy. Then where was he? She dropped to her knees. Why is he always leaving her? "Why?"

Bakura prodded the fire with a branch and an irate expression. He was sitting crosslegged while Makare was watching the side of his face with pity. He looked so lonely. So this lonely soul was the great Thief King; the one that caused a great uproar within the palace. She knelt across from him. Thief King or not, this man looked like, as absurd as it sounds, a small child in need of love and attention. She almost burst out with laughter at the thought. If he wished to, he could easily tower over her and kill her with his bare hands. If he did, then she was sure that she wouldn't mind. If that eased his soul even just a little bit, she wouldn't mind being killed by him. Makare blushed and shook her head of that disturbing thought.

_Where did that come from? _She shook her head one last time to clear it. She cast another look at him. He threw the branch into the fire not bothering to pay any attention to her. Her maternal instincts took over when she decided to end this silence between them. She crawled over to the potentially dangerous thief and without hesitating, placed her hand on his shoulder. He promptly drew back from her touch with a pained grimace. She shuddered when she looked at her hand. "Blood? You're hurt! Why didn't you tell me!" She didn't know why she was angry with him.

"What would that have accomplished?! You're one of the Pharoah's supporters. You should be happy that I'm hurt," Bakura snapped at her, holding onto his wounded shoulder. Those words annoyed and hurt the slave girl. She almost wanted to hit him right in the shoulder just to make him feel more pain.

She chose not to respond to his comment. Instead, she ripped a piece of her linen dress and looked around. "Do you know if there's water nearby?" She asked.

"Yes, there's water ten thousand miles from here. Why don't you go find it and leave me alone?" He snapped and turned back to poking the fire again.

"Slap me." Makare commanded calmly, ignoring his rude comment.

"What?!" This surprised him greatly. What kind of woman wants to be willingly slapped? "Or punch me. Just make me cry." She commanded yet again. He didn't move a muscle.

"COME ON! Hit me or insult me and make me cry!" She yelled at him this time. No woman besides his own mother had ever yelled at him like this. Even the Priestess Isis, one of the Pharaoh's guardians never yelled at him when she was trying to threaten him.

"As you wish..." He smiled sadistically. He was going to enjoy hurting one of the Pharaoh's supporters. Makare closed her eyes when his fist came flying towards her. Five seconds passed then it seemed like an eternity but the impact never came. One of her eyelids opened to see his fist an inch from her face and it was shaking. Bakura dropped his fist, looking away from her. "Why didn't you flinch or duck? Are you some kind of masochist? I don't enjoy hurting anyone who enjoys pain."

"Of course I don't like pain! You were supposed to make me cry so I can use my tears to treat your wound! Do you think I'm a psycho like you?! For once, I just want to be useful to someone so they won't cast me away!" Tears flowed down her face to both her chagrin and her delight. She quickly soaked up her tears with the piece of ripped linen. _I don't want to be cast away again like my parents did to me. Was I was so useless to mother and father that they had to sell me? _"This might hurt a little since it is salty but it's better than nothing. Turn around." He did just what she told him. He sat quietly while she washed his wound with a tear-soaked cloth. It wasn't the greatest treatment he could get but it was still something. By thinking of her painful past, more tears flowed automatically so she could resoak the cloth. He could hear the trembling of her breathe everytime she sobbed.

"Mother...Father..." She kept muttering sadly under her breathe and he could hear her. After she was finished with wrapping up his shoulder (she ripped another piece of her dress again), her tears had dried up. "There." She tightened up the cloth around his shoulder. She accidentally looked up to find his hate-filled eyes on her. "Wow." Makare whispered. _They say a person's eyes are the windows to their souls. If his eyes are filled with so much hatred, then he must have a troubled soul. This man really is dangerous but somehow, I'm not afraid of him. _She took her eyes away from his turning away to look at the twinkling diamonds in the sky. "Y-you should really get some rest to numb the pain. Your shoulder will probably get better by tomorrow. If we're lucky, we can find a river and properly clean your wound."

"Come here," he commanded dryly. Makare flushed angrily at the rude way he was speaking to her. Her own superior wasn't even that rude. Then again, Priestess Isis can hardly be considered rude.

"What do you want?" She snapped back in an equally rude way. He beckoned her with his finger. "Why should I?"

"I want you to join me," he said simply. The way that he said that infuriated her. Did he expect her to sleep with him just like that? When Makare didn't make any move, he started to crawl towards her. To his amazement, she shot up like a comet and moved from within his grasp before he could reach her.

"What is wrong with you?! I just fixed your wound now you expect me to sleep with you, too?!" She was huddling a few inches from the fire glaring at him. Now she really wanted to punch his wounded shoulder. Tortured soul or not, she cannot stand perverts.

He chuckled deeply. "First, you show me your breasts then you refuse to be bedded. What kind of woman are you?"

"When did I ever show you my breasts!" Makare shouted, hugging her chest. This was the first time a man had her so fired up. Usually she was soft spoken and shy around people.

"The front of your dress...I can see right through it." Bakura pointed it out. Makare lifted her arms to see if he was telling the truth. To her horror, her dark nipples could be seen through the thin material.

"AAHH! I can't believe I've been walking around the palace in this! This is the first time that I've worn this, too. How could I be so stupid!" She hugged her legs to her chest, covering up her frontal body.

"Why are you upset? I think they look fine, not too small or too big." His comment just fueled her desire to cry, not just about her embarrassment but about everything else in her life. She buried her face in her knees. A cold breeze started to pick up making her shiver. Her hot tears wasn't enough to warm her up. "Stop crying and join me." She lifted her head to glare at him yet again.

She stood up, wiped her tears roughly with her bare arm and started to walk away but he tripped her. Makare ended up falling flat on her face, sand now stuck to her face. "I said, I wanted you to join me." He was starting to get mad. She got up again, wiped her sandy face and prepared to run away this time.

"Diabound will hurt you if you try to escape again," Bakura said simply. A large shadow appeared beside her feet.

"The monster that you summoned to fight Pharaoh Atemu," she whispered. "AAHHH!"

"I don't like to owe anybody anything," he whispered in her ear before setting her down on a spot beside the slowly dying fire. She stiffened up when he laid down beside her. He snaked his arm around her waist and resting his head against the back of her neck. "Your dress can't warm you but I can. Consider us even."

That was one of her best memories of him. However, when the next morning had come, he was nowhere to be found. She had returned to the palace with an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

"Why are you always leaving me?" Rina asked, her eyes unfocused. Now fully dressed in his still wet clothes, Ryou was starting to get worried about this girl. She had been mumbling for at least six minutes. He wondered if he should get anyone to help...

"Risa, come on. You shouldn't try to starve yourself again. Come out and have so-" Rina's dad opened the door to see an extremely nervous Ryou and his very nude daughter. His hand was still on the doorknob. His eyes kept swinging back and forth to his incoherent daughter and the strange boy. "I'm going to kill you!" He was about to launch himself on a very frightened Ryou when Rina broke out in uncontrollable shivers.

Her dad hurriedly took off his light jacket to cover her. The weak girl clutched onto her dad for support. "Why won't he stay, daddy?" She asked him weakly, her fingers digging into desperately into his arm. "Did I do something bad? Mom said that if I prayed to Kami-sama enough, my wish would come true."

"Why won't who stay? Who are you talking about, huh, Rina-chan?" He asked with his hand on her cheek.

The term 'help' isn't exactly in Bakura's vocabulary but there's a good reason why he's being somewhat nice. Don't think that I just changed his personality because of reckless characterization.

A/N: I apologize for making Bakura somewhat out of character and also for taking so long to write this chapter. I just wanted to be happy with the chapter and had major writer's block so it took a while.


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